Sports teams develop into something more after years of playing with each other. Daily practices, pregame dinners, hundreds of hours spent together on and off the field create a bond unique to any team. This season, the baseball team brings a squad of 11 seniors to the plate with an eye bent toward advancing deep into the postseason.
“We are a really close team from the freshman all the way up to the senior class. It all starts from the varsity and junior varsity sharing practice together,” said senior second baseman Michael Wall. “We all have full faith and each other to make plays and win ball games.”
Team chemistry has often been cited as a key component to any successful team. There is no lack of camaraderie on the baseball diamond. The sharing of practice between the varsity and the junior varsity teams has added to the bonds between players from all grade levels. Most high school baseball programs schedule their varsity and junior varsity practices at different times and practice separately. But both squads practicing together, allows the veterans to play side by side with the newer players and act as one unit. Older, more experienced players set an example for the younger ones as they work side by side on their game. Many of the teams 11 seniors have played with each other since freshman year and some have even played with one another since their Khoury League days. This long time connection to each other has brought the team close and created a strong bond between the players on and off the field.
“I’ve played with most of these guys since freshman year and we’ve really grown on each other,” said senior pitcher Brett Toister. “I think that’s what distinguishes us from other teams, we all get along so well it makes it natural to play with one another and that helps us win games as a team”
Last year, the team began its season 11-1 with their eyes set on a state playoff run. But things unraveled after a mediocre trip to the Sarasota Baseball Classic in which they ended the tournament 2-2. The team dropped ten out of eleven in the final half of the season to finish at 12-11 and was eliminated in the first round of the district playoffs. This year’s team hopes to get past the shortcomings of last year’s team and keep improving as the season continues.
“We had a great start last year but we completely dropped the ball down the homestretch” said senior pitcher and centerfielder Nikolas Gruener. “We had a pretty good team but we got satisfied with where we were at and how we were playing so we stopped getting better. ”
This year the team comes back with a veteran lineup and renewed focus in the wake of last year’s disappointing finish. In its most recent game, the team defeated archrival Killian 3-1 at Coral Reef Park in a game where senior Nikolas Gruener posted over 10 strikeouts and let up no earned runs in a dominating performance that gave the team their fourth district victory. In their previous game, the boys baseball team held off a last inning rally by South Dade, turning a crucial double play with bases loaded and getting a key final strikeout to beat the Buccaneers. The team is now tied for first place in the district and have their eyes set on clinching a spot in the GMAC tournament.
“I think we have a great chance to go far into the postseason this year,” said junior pitcher Ian Exposito. “If we keep playing well and improving throughout the season as a team anything is possible.”